The List: 13 Apr 2000 (Issue 384)

Maguire takes the lead as llonier \V‘Ils, an orphan who grows up to continue the worthy work of his mentor arid surrogate father, Dr larch (Caine). On route to manhood, llomer urtdertakes a small-scale odyssey around 19-10s New lingland, during which time he works on an apple farm and ltas an affair with farm owner Candy Kendall (Theron). Somewhere between Irving's screenplay and Ilallstrom's direction there's art overabundance of sentimentality which undermines Irving's brand of tragi-comedy. General release.

A Clockwork Orange (18) **** (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1971) MaIColm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Warren Clarke. 137 mins. 'l‘he rtight of ‘ultra-violence' committed by Alex (McDowell) and his gang of ‘droogs' gives it its notoriety. But subsequent victimisation by the State still provides much food for thought. This fable of law and disorder. crime and punishment might easily be recast in 31st century Britain. So. it's about time the British public got to see the late master‘s most infamous film. Glasgow: ()deon. lidinburgh: ABC, UCI.

Deceit (Commedia) ( t 5) (Claudia I'ilorio, 1990) Jonathart Pryce, Susan lynch, Claudia Gerini. ()5 ntins. 'I‘his directorial debut is a sophisticated thriller which twists and turns through several levels of irttrigue. An actress and a photographer are disrupted when a famous art critic (Pryce) enters their lives, in this story ofobsessive love. Part of the Italian Film Festival.

Glasgow: Gl’l‘. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse. The Dinner (La Cena) (15) (t-ittore Scola, 1998) Vittorio Gassman, Giancarlo Giannini, Stefania Sandrelli. I08 mitts. Gassman is on top form as a Romart trattoria prophet in Scola‘s sardonic portrait of a cross-section of Italians caught at the most relaxing hour of the day -- over dinner. During the evening. the characters' more human sides are gradually revealed. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: (il’l‘. Edinburgh: liilmhouse.

East Is East (15) ***** (Damien ()'l)onnell, UK, 1909) ()m Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Rotitledge. 0t) mitts. Based on Ayub Khan-Din's play, [fast ls [first draws its perfectly balanced mix of belly laughs and tears from the conﬂict within a multi-racial family living in Salford iii the 70s. llead of the Khan household. George attempts to force his sorts into arranged marriages in a belated effort to preserve tradition, btit, born in lingland. the sons are having none of it. Iidinburgh: Cameo. I)unoon: Sttidio Cinema. Paisley: Showcase. The End Of The Affair ( tts‘) **** (Neil Jordart. l'K. LS, 3000) Ralph l-‘iettnes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea. lItl mins. This is a diary of hate.‘ explains narrator Bendrix (Pictures), as he attempts to piece together the memories of his war-time affair with Sarah (Moore), the wife of high- ranking civil servant Ilenry (Rea). Jordan captures the raneorous tone and bitter intensity of Graham Grahame Greene's source novel in this potent adaptation. the impact of which is compounded by a trio of commanding performances. l)ttnlcrtttiitte; Carnegie Hall. Stirling: MacRobert.

The English Patient (15) *ttir (Anthony .‘ylinghella, lIK. I'S, two) Ralph liiennes. Juliette Binoche. Kristin Scott Thomas. It): mins. A my steriotis strartger. suffering from horrific burns. is cared fair by a Canadian nurse during the final days of WWII. In ﬂashback. we discover more about the great romantic affair w hose tragic climax brought him to this state. Anthony Minghella alters the focus or Michael ()ndaatJe's Booker Pri/e-winning ttoycl to concentrate more on boiling passions in the North African desert. Spectacularly filmed on location. the film boasts magnificent performances front each and every one of the leads. Kilmarnock: ()deon.

L'ennui ( lb') **** ((‘e‘dric Kaltn, I’rance,

19‘.l‘))(.‘harles Berling, Sophie Guillemin. 120 mins. In this suggestive, quirky study of amour fou, dissatisfied philosophy professor Martin (Berling) loses sight of himself in the warm and fatty folds of the teenage Cecilia (Guillemin). Of course, older man falling in love with mysterious younger woman is the subject of much French cinema, and is at the heat of film noir. But Kahn's achievement is to play it less as tragedy than indeterminate irony. asking us to look inside Martin's head rather than simply at the leading lady's figure. See review. Edinburgh: liilmhousc. Erin Brockovich (15) *tit (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2000) Julia Roberts, Albert l-‘inney, Aaron lickhart. I33 mins. Unemployed single mother Erin (Roberts) shoehorns her way into a filing clerk position with l"inney's California law ﬁrm. There she accidentally unCovers a conspiracy to conceal the poisoning of the local community, which leads to the largest direct action lawsuit irt American history. This might sound like a cliched John Grisham thriller, but it‘s based on a true story arid Soderbergh's direction and Roberts' performance are faultless -— together they prove that mainstream American cinema cart be something truly great. General release.

Extreme Screen: Everest & The Living Sea ([3) it 40 mins. Although the lwerks experience impresses on a technical level, neither of these films transcend entertainment as lumbering fairground attraction. Everest is a dry-as-sand account of a recent expedition tip the big yin. Filmed in the style of a Sunday afternoon docudrama, it also has the dubious honour of rendering a remarkable adventure mundane. A much better bet is the visually wondrous Tllt’ Living Sea, an ‘edutaining' look at mankind's relationship with the sea (with voice-over from Meryl Streep). lidinbnrgh: L'GC Cinemas.

FernGully: The Last Rainforest (U) *it (Bill Kroyer, US, 1992) With the voices of Tim Curry, Samantha Mathis, Jonathan Ward, Robin Williams, Christian Slater. 7r) mitts. In a secret forest world touched by magic. a young fairy shrinks a human lumberjack, who then ltas to help save the rainforest from destruction. Iieo-edged animation has a lot to recommend it other than its well-meaning intentions: lush colour, sweeping computer-aided cameras, and a decent set of songs. ()ne for the

The Flintstonesdf) it (Brian Levant, IS. I‘M-3) Joltn Goodman, Rick .‘yloranis. liIt/abcth Perkins. Rosie O'Donnell. ()2 mitts l-red is promoted to an executive post a! the quarry, btit only as a stooge for his boss's corporate tip-off; nevertheless, money and pow er go to the I‘lintstones' heads. catisrng friction with the Rubbles. The

tttoy ie keeps to the 'I'\' series' prehistoric parody of modern suburban life, adds bright arid chunky sets and a post-y uppie morality talc on greed that doesn't quite sit rigltt, and comes out a little plot-heavy. 'I‘he one-liners will be picked tip by adults. kids will get bored. Btit it's no the yabba-dabba dodo it could have been. Glasgow: GI’T‘.